Still Celebrating

Since Mother's Day and my birthday come so close together, I celebrate the whole week long. Wouldn't you?

My daughter took me shopping to spend birthday money from my kids because I badly needed some Florida clothes. How I wish the Lilly Pulitzer department had clothes in my size because these colors were so yummy. 

Now I'm going to do something that feels so awkward, show you what I picked out. You see, I hate shopping for clothes. I only do it every few years when I have to and usually I just wander around aimlessly, finally desperately choosing something, anything.

But with the patient help of Christy, I actually enjoyed this shopping trip and I think the things I chose with her guidance actually do look like the yummy Lilly Pulitzer colors.

What do you think? 

I also picked out a cool sunhat since my old Valley View sunhat was in tatters. Tatters, not taters. For some reason that made me think of the old Jimmy Dickens' song, "Take an Old Cold Tater and Wait." Boy, does that ever date me! Anybody else ever heard of that song? I bet not.

The highlight of my birthday week was driving down to Orlando to visit my mother, or being driven down because our terrific son-in-law volunteered to do that, taking a whole day away from his business.

My beautiful darling mother is 91 years young. And this is the way I still think of her. 

I had not seem my mother in four years. (I know, isn't that awful? We just don't travel. We had to MOVE to Florida in order to be able to see her.) Mama's memory is not what it was but when I walked into her room and my sister asked her if she knew who had come to visit her, she immediately said my name. That was the best birthday gift I received.

Have any of you seen "Nothing Left Unsaid" on television? The conversations between Anderson Cooper and his mother Gloria Vanderbilt? If you ever have the chance, please watch it. The conversations between the two of them were riveting but also, it was a beautiful thing to see Anderson watching his mother, realizing the importance of what may be some of the final conversations between them. Priceless.

Back home again in Ponte Vedra Beach, what did we see in the sky as we stood on the front porch? Can you see it? Yes, it's the Goodyear blimp!

There's this little shindig they throw here a few miles from us each year called The Players Championship. If you follow golf at all you know what I'm talking about. I don't know diddly squat about golf but I learned pretty quickly that this thing is HUGE.

You know how we snowbirds go the store back home and stock up when snow is forecast? Well next year that's what we'll do before The Players Championship happens again. Because you do not want to get stuck in traffic running to the Winn-Dixie for milk. 

Speaking of Winn-Dixie, they make sure you know you better stock up when you shop there before The Players but they're not talking about milk.

One night Christy and Bryan brought the best pizza I've ever had to our house and I made strawberry shortcake because that's what my Mama always made for my birthday cake. When Christy and Bryan drove home they got caught in the Toby Keith concert traffic that was part of The Players honoring the military, and their normal 10 minute or less drive turned into 30 minutes bumper to bumper. 

Here's a link to Sunday's winner just in case there are any golfers reading.

I hope this hasn't been too long a post sharing some of the highlights of our 4th week here in Florida--I can't believe it's been four weeks now!

I have to show you one more picture because I had one late birthday card come in the mail yesterday--all the way from Budapest!

Our youngest son just returned from two weeks in Budapest, Vienna, and Prague, filming a travel show. I hope I can show you some of the pictures he took sometime and I'll be sure to let you know when the show airs. He had a wonderful time getting to know people in that beautiful part of our world. 

Time to go hunt up one of the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I made yesterday.

After all...

I'm still celebrating!